


Hope Thinks Infinite

by aimingarrows



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Protective Steve Rogers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-19
Updated: 2018-05-18
Packaged: 2019-05-08 19:46:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14700969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aimingarrows/pseuds/aimingarrows
Summary: This time, when Thanos arrives in Wakanda, he brings Tony Stark’s wounded body with him.This changes everything.***INFINITY WAR SPOILERS.





	Hope Thinks Infinite

**Author's Note:**

> All I could think about when watching infinity War was "What if Thanos actually brought Tony with him? What would happen when the Avengers were confronted with that?" 
> 
> And well. It wouldn't leave my head.

Tony gasps, nearly soundless, but desperate and pained all the same. The air around him seems to have stilled, and for a moment it’s almost quiet, like a silence has blanketed the seemingly endless destruction around him. For a second, it’s almost peaceful, like time has suspended if only for a moment.

But it passes as quickly as it came. The reprieve lent by the shock of a sharp stab, gone, lost in the wind, and in the fleeting moment with which it came.

He grunts against the pressure, the fiery hot pain that shoots through his veins and bones like liquid fire. As Tony gasps for breath, reeling, he finds himself failing, his lungs falling short of their usual capacity. Instead he inhales something metallic, tangy and _thick_ , and he nearly chokes on it as the blood dribbles down his chin.

He doesn’t even register being pushed back to sit down slowly, almost caringly in some sick, twisted way. He glances upwards, as the blood that threatens to choke him clogs up his throat and feels a sinking feeling spread across his breastbone as the air is closed off.

He locks eyes with Thanos, those beady eyes boiling down into his, intense in such a fashion that Tony can’t find himself to look away. Instead, he stares back, defiant but tired, as a sigh leaves his lips, and blood along with it.

“You have my respect, Stark,” Thanos tells him, the pressure from his hand weighing down on Tony’s head in an attempt at comfort that makes him feel nothing but disgust inside, a paralyzed numbness that spreads through him. Like this couldn’t – _can’t_ – be happening. Like this isn’t real.

Thanos leans in, closer this time, his breath tickling the side of Tony’s face, and he forces himself not to flinch away at the terrible feeling of lowliness it provokes in him, a despair so bright in the face of the patronization staring down at his face.

“When I’m done half of humanity will still be alive,” Thanos says caringly.

Tony marvels at the way he says it. He doesn’t say _When I’m done half of humanity will be dead_ but that half of humanity _would still be alive._ He says it in a way that makes Tony realize Thanos truly believes he is doing the universe a favor. By the way he says it, Tony knows in his bones that this isn’t some wicked plan, that this man isn’t hellbent on raining his wrath over the universe. No, this man – this _monster_ – truly believes he is doing the universe a favor. 

_Will still be alive._

Salvation. Thanos believes that he is the savior of the universe.

Tony barely registers Thanos leaning back, but he hears his next words like a whip cracking through the shocking silence on Titan.

“I hope they remember you.”

There isn’t enough time to react or feel anything. Tony can only stare as Thanos powers up not one but _all_ the Infinity Stones he holds in his possession and aims it towards Tony’s person. He will die here, on a desolate planet, and one of the worst parts is that he won’t ever know what will become of those he loves, of his allies, of how this will all end. He will die a billion light years away from home, a whole other space system away from everything he knows.

He screams at himself to fight, to stand, to do _something_ , but blood is dribbling from his mouth and pouring out of his stomach, and it’s taking every semblance of energy that he has to even keep breathing, to fight his body’s temptation to succumb to its injuries, to let go and embrace the path of least resistance. But he was never one to do things the easy way.

He wants to fight so badly that staying down hurts him more than the wound in his stomach. But he can’t, and Tony hates himself for going down like this.

So he does the only thing he has left in his arsenal. He breathes, and stares back defiantly. He will not leave this life staring at the ground in defeat. If he must sit down, he will stare at his death in the face, and dare it to take him quietly.

“Stop!” A voice rings out over the ashes of Titan. It’s so startling that Tony feels the reverberations of the voice shudder through the waves. He turns his head and sees Strange struggling to sit up, blood dribbling down the side of his head.

“Spare his life–” Strange starts, and Tony thinks – _No._

_Don’t._

“–and I will give you the stone.”

_No._

Tony sees Thanos turn and quirk his head slowly. “No tricks?”

Strange shakes his head, breathing hard, and in a way Tony would almost call his expression assured, like a man who knows that he is about to commit an act that he must do.

Tony watches as Strange conjures the Time Stone in his hand, before letting it float over to Thanos where he stands. He holds his breath, mind swirling, uncomprehending what he is seeing, because this can’t be happening, this _can’t._ An Infinity Stone for his life – he _doesn’t understand._ For once, Tony is speechless. He doesn’t know what to do. He doesn’t know how to react other than sheer terror. Nothing is going on in his mind other than the endless mantra of _no no no no no._

_Not me. Not for that._

_Not the universe. Not for me._

_No._

The air shudders suddenly, and a gust of sharp wind blows coldly against his exposed skin, making his breath hitch, and it is only then that he is shocked out of his terror, noticing that Thanos has now placed the Time Stone firmly on the gauntlet, its shining green glow a pulsating light against the other stones.

Tony sucks a breath in and squeezes his eyes shut. He feels numb. Paralyzed. He can’t breathe and he can’t speak and he can’t _think._ This is too much. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. He knew something was coming. He was prepared.

But he wasn’t. In the end, it wasn’t enough.

Then.

Silence.

“Noble of you,” Thanos suddenly says, in a twisted imitation of a voice that is meant to sound sincere, but is nothing other than wickedly gleeful.

Tony watches as Strange’s eyes widen, the assured look on his face fading away into pure terror and confusion. Like the man who Tony had seen that was about to commit something he knew he must do, now suddenly subverted, with the rug that was underneath him pulled away unexpectedly, and is now grasping for any lifeline he can clutch onto.

Tony feels a hard grip on his upper left arm, bruising and unrelenting. He tries to push it away, to break free, but he can feel his life slipping away with every flow of blood that is leaking from his body. And still, he pulls, futile though he knows it is. He gurgles his protests through the metallic liquid flooding his mouth and lungs.

Thanos looks down at him with a glint in his eyes, his grip on Tony’s arm tightening, and Tony feels his stomach drop as Thanos turns a knowing smile towards Strange.

Strange’s eyes widen, his lips forming a silent _“No.”_

 _You’re not the only one cursed with knowledge_ , Thanos had said.

“But sorry,” the Great Titan says.

He pulls Tony close and lifts the gauntlet.

“No bargaining this time.” 


End file.
